Daily Mail, Tuesday, August 27, 2019 Page 31
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OPTIMISTS tend to live longer and
have a greater chance of reaching
their 85th birthday, says a study.
Experts say those who stay posi-
tive cope with stress better, which
may limit its effect on health.
They are also more likely to set
themselves goals, and believe they
will achieve them, which makes
them more likely to exercise and
eat healthily.
Researchers tracked almost 70,000
women for a decade and almost
1,500 men for 30 years.
They were asked how much they
agreed with statements including,
for women, ‘In uncertain times, I
usually expect the best’.
Optimists had a lifespan 11 to 15 per
cent longer, and were more likely to
achieve ‘exceptional longevity’,
which means an age of 85.
The most positive women were 50
per cent more likely to see 85, and
the most optimistic men had 70 per
cent higher odds of reaching the
same age.
The study was published in the
journal Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences.For a long life,
always look on
the bright side
Police pay Twitter
guru more than
their beat bobbies
By Izzy FerrisDaiailylyMMaiaill, TuTueseday, August 27 , 20201919
Heartless! Disabled
Thomas fan told he can’t
dress as Fat Controller
In character:
Gareth, here
in his control
room at home,
was left upsetTHEY say crime doesn’t
pay... but updating the
police’s Twitter pages
certainly does.
Two forces seeking a ‘social
media officer’ to oversee their
online accounts are offering
£25,556 a year – more than £7,000
higher than the starting salary
for frontline staff.
The job advert states appli-
cants will be expected to spend
37 hours a week ‘identifying and
engaging with online communi-
ties’ for both Dorset Police and
Devon and Cornwall Police,
which work together across sev-
eral areas.
The forces even guarantee
annual pay rises, to a maximum
of £28,353.
By comparison, officers patrol-
ling the streets of Dorset, Devon
and Cornwall start on just
£18,450. It takes around 37 weeks
for this to jump to £24,177, and
three years until staff begin earn-
ing £25,269 – still less than the
starting salary for an official
Facebook and Twitter guru.
One officer told The Sun: ‘It
makes you feel under-valued
when they want to pay an office-
bound worker a bigger wage for
riding a keyboard all day and
writing about the stuff frontline
cops are doing.
‘A serving officer with threeyears’ experience should not be
earning less than someone sat in
a cosy office whose biggest risk is
stubbing their toe getting up
from their desk to make a brew.’
An advert posted on the web-
site of both forces states: ‘The
purpose of the role is to identify
and engage with online commu-
nities across all established and
emerging social media platforms,
both responding to incoming
posts and creating proactive con-
tent in support of colleagues’
projects and campaigns.
‘[The successful applicant] will
generate and schedule 24/7 dig-
ital content suitable for all online
communities and monitor for
any risks and opportunities.’Applicants are told they will be
expected to: ‘Use appropriate
existing and emerging channels
for online audiences across both
forces, to support force activity,
operations and engagement...
‘Create a virtual brand andsocial media channels.’ Dorset
has been working closely with
neighbouring Devon and Corn-
wall since 2015. The two forces
are partners in more than 30
areas, including armed response
and road policing.
According to government fig-
ures, Devon and Cornwall police
had 3,000 full-time officers as of
March. This was up from 2,959
the previous year, but far lower
than the 3,556 it had in 2010.
The most recent data shows
Dorset has 1,223 officers – down
from 1,263 the year before and
1,422 in 2010.
Neither force responded to
requests for comment.
[email protected]‘Biggest risk is
stubbing their toe’to save confusion. Mr Bell, who
has severe learning difficulties,
lives with his parents and even
has his own mock train control
room in his garden. His mother
Laurie Bell, 52, said: ‘Gareth has
always loved trains and he adores
Thomas. I just wanted the ground
to swallow me up and I thought I
was going to start crying.
‘But I kept my emotions in check
because Gareth was unaware of
what was happening.
‘When I asked him to take off
his costume he told me: “Bad
Mummy”.’ She added: ‘Gareth is
a gentle giant. He is a toddler in
a big man’s body.
‘The man asked if Gareth
could remove his hat, jacket and
tie because he was impersonat-
ing a member of staff. I was also
told he had to sit further alongIT was a big day out that one
vulnerable man had been look-
ing forward to for months –
wearing his own Fat Control-
ler outfit to a Thomas the
Tank Engine event.
But 27-year-old Gareth Bell,
who has a mental age of four, was
distraught after a train station
official demanded he remove his
fancy dress costume – accusing
him of impersonating staff.
Railway enthusiast Mr Bell,
who has a disorder called Angel-
man Syndrome, wore his favour-
ite costume, that of Sir Topham
Hatt, to the family day.
However, he was forced to
remove his cap, tie and jacket by
an official who claimed he was a
health and safety risk as other
passengers may confuse him
with a bona fide staff member.
Mr Bell’s family say he was also
told to sit away from passengersthe platform away from all the
other visitors. They blamed
health and safety. I’m totally
broken and can’t stop crying
about what happened.’
Mr Bell eventually travelled on
the Thomas replica on Saturday
but with his uniform left on the
station bench. Mr Bell’s father
Robert said the experience con-
trasted with the family’s visit to
the Flying Scotsman in Perth,
Scotland, earlier this year, anBy Sam WalkerHead of steam: Excited fans at the Day Out with Thomas eventevent his son attended dressed
as ‘Station Master Gareth’. He
said: ‘The staff there did every-
thing they could to accommodate
him.. Gareth is 6ft 3in and doesn’t
look like he has learning difficul-
ties, but not everybody that is
disabled is in a wheelchair.’
A spokesman for the volunteer-
run Caledonian Railway in Bre-
chin, Scotland, apologised and
has invited Gareth, of Dundee,
back to make amends. He said:‘We are not here to single anybody
out and this was a case of mis-
communication between the two
parties. We would like to clear the
air and invite Gareth to join us
next weekend at the station.’
The Fat Controller was created,
along with Thomas and the other
engines, by Reverend W. Awdry in
his books The Railway Series,
first published in 1945. The TV
adaptation, Thomas and Friends,
was first aired in 1984.social media corporate voice for
both forces and ensure the rele-
vant corporate voice is applied
and consistent in all posts and
responses... [and] advise offic-
ers and staff across both forces
on the content of their own